Grosjean targeting 2011 F1 return

Former Renault F1 driver Romain Grosjean has said that he is aiming for a return to Formula 1 in 2011, despite a poor start to his career last year.

Grosjean was dropped by Renault for this year, after failing to impress after driving for 7 races last year. He replaced Nelson Piquet Jr from Valencia onwards, but only recorded a best finish of 13th at the Brazilian Grand Prix. Even though he started decently, by qualifying 14th in his first race, he never really improved from there. He is best remembered for being involved in Jenson Button’s and Lewis Hamilton’s crash in Belgium, and for crashing in the exact same spot in Singapore that Piquet did last year.

Because of this, he was dropped for this year, and he is now racing in the inugural FIA GT1 World Championship, for the Matech team. However, he plans to return to F1 next year:

"I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. With all the problems
around the team, it wasn't easy; they wanted to make a clean sweep
of the past.
I'm not losing hope. When I see (former team-mate) Fernando
Alonso's results with Ferrari this year, I think I deserve a place
on the grid; my pace was far from being ridiculous - I was never
more than two or three tenths off him in qualifying."

He is trying, as he is keeping in contact with Renault and contacts in other teams. But, I’m not sure would any team give him a chance again. I would, because someone who has won 4 races across 2 GP2 seasons is worth having a look at. Maybe if a small team gave him a chance to drive the car for a day alongside other new drivers, it would give him a better chance.

The problem is, there are many other former F1 drivers that teams would take other than Grosjean. Takuma Sato, for example, has been looking for a return to F1 in the last few months, as has Anthony Davidson. Jacques Villeneuve and Giancarlo Fisichella would also be drivers who would be given the opportunity before Grosjean. It’s unfair towards Romain, but I feel that’s whats going to happen.

I’m not saying that all of these drivers will return to F1, just noting that they too have been looking at a return, and they would probably be favoured compared to Grosjean.